The idea is conveyed: If players deal too little damage, they should not blame Blizzard and the balance, but rather improve their gameplay.
Preach himself responds that he is not so sure about it, but he trusts the developer’s assessment.
The budget describes how strong an item really is in a quasi-numerical value that, however, is not displayed anywhere. The only reference for this budget for players is the item level, which should imply: the higher, the better. However, some players have the impression that the budget and the item level do not increase linearly, but that higher-level items are much stronger.
Shadowlands – Are we becoming too strong too late?
This is the problem: Many players seemingly have the impression that upon reaching level 60 and their first items, they can do nothing. If they have just equipped themselves with item level 200, that is worth nothing, as Preach explains.
The difference to players with higher item levels is too great. A player in his chat notes this by saying: “Legendarys serve as multipliers.” In this way, items obtained by mythic raiders are much stronger than what the average player can get.
The criticism here is that players apparently feel that mythic raids are excessively rewarded. The difference in damage and healing, for example, is significantly greater than what the item budget should allow.
What does reality look like? As an example, I have compared some numbers from my own raid. Since I am also participating in the mythic raid with my guild, without being among the top 10, the reference is probably quite fitting.
The observation is that the actual numerical increase remains relatively linear and roughly falls within the range of what Hazzikostas claims. As an example, I chose the fight against Sludgefist, as this represents a pure DPS check:
- normal: Item level 187, average DPS between 3,000-4,000
- heroic: Item level 213, average DPS between 5,000-6,000
- mythic: Item level 225, average DPS at about 7,000
Our damage in normal mode. 
Our damage in heroic mode. 
Our damage in mythic mode.
A similar picture is seen with other bosses like Shriekwing. The average damage increases for us more than the 1% per item level mentioned by Hazzikostas; however, other factors come into play, such as better conduits, more conduits and abilities, as well as sockets and legendary abilities.
Many particularly good logs are also created with the support of other players, such as with the Priest’s spell Soul of Power, which grants 25% haste for 20 seconds.
Legendarys and the covenants are features that also contribute significantly to damage. Covenants are the new core feature of Shadowlands and are currently in a state that, according to Hazzikostas, is satisfactory. Therefore, this system will probably not change much.
How much personal skill plays a role in damage is objectively difficult to measure. In any case, Hazzikostas seems to believe: If players deal too little damage, they like to blame gear and balance. However, they should rather start with themselves and optimize their gameplay in WoW.
More legendary items will even be added with Patch 9.1. Plans are apparently for covenant legendaries for each class and each covenant – a total of 48 pieces. Legendary items can also be further enhanced in the upcoming patch, potentially increasing their impact on damage:
WoW makes legendaries even stronger in Patch 9.1 – Here’s how to upgrade them
In an interview, the Creative Director of World of Warcraft, Ion Hazzikostas, spoke about items and their strength. He had some words for the players who claim that items and their level are prerequisites for good damage numbers in raids.
This is what the boss says: The streamer and WoW expert Preachlfw spoke in an interview with Ion Hazzikostas. He noted that the power distribution in Shadowlands feels strange (via Twitch).
Although you might be only about 10 item levels “behind”, you would be significantly weaker than players with slightly stronger items, he says. Therefore, the question arose whether such issues would be addressed by the developers. However, Hazzikostas’ answer was quite direct:
The premise of this question interests me very much; I cannot agree to that. When players see Mythic raiders dealing significantly more damage than they do, that is honestly a matter of skill.
As you surely know very well, there are huge differences in skill when it comes to performance. The power budget of items has not changed for years. An item level gives roughly 1%. It has been that way since Wrath of the Lich King. […]
If you look at the values, a chest piece with level 226 should have about 26-30% more stamina and primary attributes than a level 200 chest piece. And that should remain evenly distributed across all equipment.
Ion Hazzikostas
Hazzikostas further explains that the total budget for items in Shadowlands is even lower than in BfA, where things like Azerite powers and later Corruption played a role.
The idea is conveyed: If players deal too little damage, they should not blame Blizzard and the balance, but rather improve their gameplay.
Preach himself responds that he is not so sure about it, but he trusts the developer’s assessment.
The budget describes how strong an item really is in a quasi-numerical value that, however, is not displayed anywhere. The only reference for this budget for players is the item level, which should imply: the higher, the better. However, some players have the impression that the budget and the item level do not increase linearly, but that higher-level items are much stronger.
Shadowlands – Are we becoming too strong too late?
This is the problem: Many players seemingly have the impression that upon reaching level 60 and their first items, they can do nothing. If they have just equipped themselves with item level 200, that is worth nothing, as Preach explains.
The difference to players with higher item levels is too great. A player in his chat notes this by saying: “Legendarys serve as multipliers.” In this way, items obtained by mythic raiders are much stronger than what the average player can get.
The criticism here is that players apparently feel that mythic raids are excessively rewarded. The difference in damage and healing, for example, is significantly greater than what the item budget should allow.
What does reality look like? As an example, I have compared some numbers from my own raid. Since I am also participating in the mythic raid with my guild, without being among the top 10, the reference is probably quite fitting.
The observation is that the actual numerical increase remains relatively linear and roughly falls within the range of what Hazzikostas claims. As an example, I chose the fight against Sludgefist, as this represents a pure DPS check:
- normal: Item level 187, average DPS between 3,000-4,000
- heroic: Item level 213, average DPS between 5,000-6,000
- mythic: Item level 225, average DPS at about 7,000
Our damage in normal mode. Our damage in heroic mode. Our damage in mythic mode.
A similar picture is seen with other bosses like Shriekwing. The average damage increases for us more than the 1% per item level mentioned by Hazzikostas; however, other factors come into play, such as better conduits, more conduits and abilities, as well as sockets and legendary abilities.
Many particularly good logs are also created with the support of other players, such as with the Priest’s spell Soul of Power, which grants 25% haste for 20 seconds.
Legendarys and the covenants are features that also contribute significantly to damage. Covenants are the new core feature of Shadowlands and are currently in a state that, according to Hazzikostas, is satisfactory. Therefore, this system will probably not change much.
How much personal skill plays a role in damage is objectively difficult to measure. In any case, Hazzikostas seems to believe: If players deal too little damage, they like to blame gear and balance. However, they should rather start with themselves and optimize their gameplay in WoW.
More legendary items will even be added with Patch 9.1. Plans are apparently for covenant legendaries for each class and each covenant – a total of 48 pieces. Legendary items can also be further enhanced in the upcoming patch, potentially increasing their impact on damage:
WoW makes legendaries even stronger in Patch 9.1 – Here’s how to upgrade them
